You may remember that I blogged...extensively...about sleep training Collins when he was around 10 months old. I read the book, Good Night, Sleep Tight by Kim West, loved it, it worked, loved it even more.
I actually thought I had sleep trained him forever. Like, I thought we would no longer have any problems. And I was right for about two years.
All of a sudden, Collins is back to fighting us at bed time. I do not understand. Who would want to prolong going to bed? I look forward to sleeping as soon as I wake up. Apparently, all three year olds do this mess. I have talked to friends, read blogs, read books, etc. I guess that should make me feel better, and it does a little. But Jake and I are worn. out.
Last night it took an hour and a half to get Collins in bed. We did our normal routine of reading three books (he usually picks out the longs ones; I paraphrase those), going to the bathroom one more time, telling Daddy goodnight one more time, letting him turn on his nightlight and sound machine, letting him turn off his lamp, telling him stories (he now requests "new ones" so I can't tell the same one over again unless it's a really good one), saying our prayers, and discussing how he will get a spanking (or we're not coming back in or something) if he calls out/cries/says "one more time," etc. I guess I didn't learn my lesson well enough the first time that consistency is key. We pretty much always give in because we simply give up.
He screamed last night...that was a first. Usually he cries and talks. But last night he was screaming and even came out of his room a couple of times. (He could barely talk this morning.) He got a spanking for not minding. I hate when he gets spankings at bed time. I still ended up giving him another hug and Jake still had to lay with him. Even though I laid with him for an hour before that.
According to everyone I talk to, this is normal behavior and we aren't necessarily doing everything wrong. But I am 38 weeks pregnant and he is just now starting to regress regarding sleep. Is he mad at us or something?! (ha)
Mary Loyd said the director of their day care center in Atlanta was very well-respected in the field as a researcher/practitioner/etc. That woman's school of thought was that the half year made a big difference related to improvements in behavior. Like, 1.5 was a lot better than 1, 2.5 was better than 2, etc. I have not heard that before, but cannot disagree. If we can make it to March maybe Collins will be back to self soothing for better/quicker sleep!
He still sleeps well once he actually falls asleep. We wake him up at 6am on weekdays and he wakes up on his own around 7 or so on weekends. Still napping well for now. I suppose that will change this weekend. Hope not.
I guess I need to employ Kim West's toddler tips and do the "Sleep Lady Shuffle" again. I just know it will be much harder now that he's not trapped in a crib!
It's possible that Collins knows it's getting closer to Hadley time. Plus, there's the new room at preschool. He is doing well in there after drop-off, but cries in the mornings regardless of if it's Jake or me dropping him off. He does better for Jake, but not great.
Yesterday Jake took him to school and I picked him up. As soon as he saw me he burst into tears and said, "I want Daddy to pick me up!" Not only that...I've dealt with that before...but he also stomped his foot several times, gave me the mean eye, and pushed me. In front of all the afternoon teachers who do not have children and who probably plan never to spank their own kids. I popped him on the thigh and they probably think I'm awful. Whatever. Then I cried when we got in the car because I am hormonal and started thinking that the last few weeks of him as an only child will be stressful and unpleasant. I supposed that's Satan toying with my joy!
I hold true to my opinion that Collins is a sweet, caring, smart child. I am happy he behaves well at school, church, and any other time we're not around. He even minds well a lot of the times when it's just us three. Just want to document that he is, in fact, approaching this Three stage that everyone has warned us about, and he seems to be serious about it. I pray we'll be able to tolerate and guide him through this stage even while we're sleep deprived and running on fumes.
It's a season...I have to keep remembering that. And it will go by quickly. That part I've already learned.
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